In retrospect, I only remember eating escargots (snails) once in all my trips to France. To be more specific, it was escargot. Just one escargot. Not a plateful, just one. But it was a very, very good escargot. It was dusted lightly with flour and fried so the outside was crisp and the inside was soft. There may have be some light seasoning in the flour for flavor, but the escargot was served naked on a plate as part of a small amuse-bouche. The year was 1998 and the place was a Michelin three-star restaurant in Burgundy that was then called Le Côte d’Or.

Snails are almost a paradox of French cuisine. We think of them as being one of the most recognizable symbols of cuisine française, but they are really not as ubiquitous as we imagine. They are readily available in almost any food store in France, but they usually occupy only a small amount of shelf space. Paris bistros and brasseries will often list them on their menus, usually as escargots de Bourgogne, but I cannot remember ever seeing anyone order them. But someone must be ordering escargots in the restaurants and buying them in the stores, or else they would disappear from the menus and the shelves.

The two varieties of snails most commonly found on menus and in stores are the escargots de Bourgogne (Helix pomatia) and the petit gris (Helix aspersa Müller). The petit gris are about one third the size of the escargots de Bourgogne. I have also occasionally seen the achatine variety in markets. This is a tropical variety from Africa and Asia that can grow to half a kilo in size, but is sold in France at the same size as the escargots de Bourgogne, which are normally described as gros (large) or extra gros (extra large). Once I found escargots de Bourgogne sold as size moyen (medium). The petits gris are generally sold as petits (small), but I’ve read that there is also a gros gris (Helix aspersa maxima) farmed in France.

Snails are commonly sold canned. Small cans, 200 grams gross weight, will contain either 4 dozen small, 3 dozen medium, or 2 dozen large snails. The next size up is three times larger and contains a proportionate number of snails. Canned snails are cooked in a court-bouillion prior to canning and some of the cooking liquid is packed along with the snails. The cooking liquid may be as simple as water, salt, and spices, or it may also contain some vegetable matter. Before use, the snails should be thoroughly drained and then rinsed under flowing water. The canning liquid is either discarded or reserved, depending on the recipe. If the recipe calls for small snails and all you have is large ones, the snails can be cut in half without affecting the finished recipe.

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(A chef once told me a story about the time he purchased live snails and they escaped from their box in the kitchen. They were peeling rogue snails off the walls for days!) If you purchase live snails, or use some from your garden, they must be purged of any toxins by feeding them clean food, such as cornmeal, for a number of days. Then they need to be cooked for a couple of hours in stock before they may be used in most recipes.

When I started searching for snail recipes, I was surprised to find that there were none to be found in any of my very old French cookbooks. The earliest recipes I found were the five listed in Alexandre Dumas’ Le grand dictionnaire de cuisine published in 1873. There may have been earlier ones, but none that I could find in my search which included books by Dubois, Gouffé, Careme, Massialot, Varenne, and others. It is known that both the Romans and Greeks ate snails and there are a couple of snail recipes in Apicius’ 4th-century cookbook. There are, however, a large number of recipes in 20th-century books. By my observation, the most common recipe is for snails baked in garlic-parsley butter. I excluded this recipe because it —escargots au beurre d’ail— has already been published on this web site. Even excluding this recipe, I found that recipes in different sources often seemed to follow similar themes, or even duplicate each other. The following recipes have been arranged by their similarities as much as possible, yet, they are all quite different.

2. Prepare a compound butter from the butter, parsley, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper by mixing all the ingredients with a rubber spatula until well combined and smooth. Spread the butter along the bottom of individual ceramic or metal ramekins. Arrange the snails on top of the butter in a single layer.

3. Bake the snails until the butter is bubbling and the snails are heated through, about 5 minutes. Strew the cheese over the top of the snails and continue baking until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and golden.

2. Add the shallot and bacon and cook a bit more. Sprinkle the flour over contents of the saucepan and stir until the flour browns. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, fennel seeds, bouquet garni, canning liquid, wine, and coarse salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 225 ml (1 c), about 3 hours.

3. Strain the mixture into a clean saucepan. Add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, and parsley. Place the saucepan over low heat and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

4. Add the snails to the saucepan and heat through. Taste the sauce for salt and add more if necessary.

5. Serve the snails with their sauce in small bowls or ramekins along with slices of crusty bread.

1. Place the shallots, tarragon, and wine in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream.

2. Over very low heat, whisk in the butter, a little bit at a time. When all the butter is incorporated, add the snails and bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat under the saucepan and carefully heat the snails.

3. Divide the snails between heated serving bowls. Sprinkle the tomatoes and chives over the top. Serve immediately.

1. Place the wine, shallot, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced in volume by two‑thirds.

2. In the meantime, fry the mushrooms in 1⁄2 T butter until they release their moisture. Drain and set aside. Blanch the onions in boiling, salted water until barely tender. Drain and set aside. Blanch the bacon in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.

3. Add the beurre manié to sauce and stir to dissolve. Continue simmering the sauce until it starts to thicken. Add the snails and cook until heated through. Add the reserved mushrooms, onions, and bacon. Add the last tablespoon of butter and stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Divide the mixture between individual serving dishes. Sprinkle the chives over the top and serve immediately.

2. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium‑low heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and half the parsley. Cook until the shallots are soft. Add the snails and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.

3. In the meantime, butter the bread slices lightly on both sides and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.

4. Add the wine to the snail mixture. Sprinkle with the flour and mix well. Increase the heat to high and cook for a couple of minutes. Do not let the sauce become too dry. Add the cream and continue cooking.

5. In the meantime, toast the bread under the broiler until browned on both sides. Place two croutons on each heated serving plate.

6. Season the snails with salt and pepper. Add the remaining minced parsley and mix. Divide the snails over the croutons. Serve immediately.

3. Place the wine and shallots in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the wine down to almost nothing. Add the reserved snail liquid and reduce that totally.

4. Reduce the heat to low. Whisk in the cream, followed by the butter, a little bit at a time. Add the herbs, tomato, and lemon zest. Mix. Add the snails. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Brush the bread slices with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Toast the bread under the broiler until browned on both sides. Place two croutons on each heated serving plate and spoon the snails over the bread.

1. For tuiles: Preheat oven to 230°C (445°F). Using a wooden spatula, combine the egg white with the flour. Mix in the oil, salt, and pepper. Using the back of a spoon, spread the batter into 4 7‑cm (23⁄4‑in) round disks on a baking sheet covered with a silicone pan liner. There may be extra batter. Place 1 hazelnut in the center of each disk and 5 nuts around the central one. Bake until the tuiles are brown around the edge, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.

2. Melt 20 g (4 t) of butter in a small saucepan over medium‑low heat. Add the shallot and cook, without coloring, until soft. Add the snails and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about a minute. Add the garlic and cream, raise heat to high, and reduce for about 3 minutes. Add the parsley and plate immediately.

3. In the meantime, melt 20 g (4 t) of butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the 2 garlic halves and the spinach. Season lightly with salt. Toss the spinach until it is barely wilted. Discard the garlic. Set the spinach aside, off the heat, until the snails are ready.

4. To serve, place a 7‑cm (23⁄4‑in) ring mold in the center of each of the heated serving plates. Drain the spinach, divide into portions, and fill the bottom of the rings. Place a fourth of the snails on top of each of the spinach piles. Spoon the sauce over the snails and around the spinach. Place a tuile on top of the snails and serve immediately.

2. For crème de persil: Blanch the parsley in salted, boiling water for 3 minutes. Refresh in cold water, drain, and dry in a towel. In the meantime, place the onion and cream in a small saucepan over medium‑low heat and cook for 10 minutes. Add the blanched parsley and puree with a stick blender. Season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.

3. For flan: Place the garlic and cream in a small saucepan over medium‑low heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and slowly whisk into the eggs. Whisk in ½ T crème de persil and pass the liquid through a chinois. Season with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Divide the mixture between buttered ramekins. Place the ramekins in a water bath and bake until firm in the center, about 35 minutes.

4. For court‑bouillon: Place the shallots, wine, stock, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, coriander seeds, and 5 reserved parsley stems in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the snails and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Remove the snails and set aside, keep warm. Strain the other solids from the court‑bouillon.

5. Return the court‑bouillon to high heat and reduce by half. Whisk in the cream and 2 T of crème de persil. Season with salt and pepper. Foam the sauce with a stick blender.

6. Cook the turnip cubes in boiling, salted water until tender, about 7 minutes.

7. To serve, reheat the snails in the parsley sauce. Remove the flans from the molds and place each in the center of a heated serving plate. Spoon the crème de persil over the flan and the base of the plate. Arrange 5 turnip cubes around the flans. Place a snail on top of each of the cubes. Decorate the flans with a few chervil leaves and each snail with a piece of diced tomato.

1. Using a channel knife, cut a spiral groove into the sides of the zucchinis for their entire length. Cut the zucchinis into 4‑cm (11⁄2‑in) long sections. Discard the end pieces. Place the zucchini sections on a plate, cut end up, and steam for 10 minutes.

2. In the meantime, melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a couple of minutes without coloring. Add the wine and increase the heat. Reduce the wine almost totally.

3. Add the cream and garlic to the frying pan. Reduce heat, season with salt and pepper, and reduce until sauce‑like, about 5 minutes. Add the snails and cook to heat through, about 3 minutes.

4. When the zucchini pieces are through steaming, remove them from the steamer and drain the pieces on absorbent paper. Using a demitasse, or other very small spoon, carefully scoop the centers out of the zucchini pieces.

5. Place the hollowed‑out pieces on heated serving plates, 4 per plate. Using a small spoon, place 3 snails into each opening. Spoon the extra sauce over the tops and serve immediately.

2. Melt 1 t butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a couple minutes until soft but not colored. Add the rhubarb and water, cover, and cook for a couple of minutes until the rhubarb is cooked through. If the mixture is too wet, drain briefly through a strainer. Divide the rhubarb mixture between individual au gratin dishes.

3. Melt the remaining teaspoon of butter in a small frying pan over medium‑high heat. When the butter becomes brown and aromatic, add the snails. Season with salt, pepper, and piment d’Espelette. Cook for a couple of minutes until he snails become crispy around the edges. Add the tarragon leaves and mix. Divide the snails over the rhubarb.

4. Whisk the egg yolk and cream together. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the mixture over the snails. Place the dishes under the broiler until the custard is set and the edges are brown, about 3 minutes.

1. Carefully trim only the outer roots from the base of the onions. Peel the onions without nicking the flesh below the peel. Do not remove the sprout end of the onion. Place the onions in a sauce pan barely large enough to hold both onions and add sufficient fat to cover them. Add the thyme, bay, and garlic to the saucepan. Place over low heat and bring the temperature of the fat to between 90 and 100°C (195 and 210°F). Cook for 90 minutes.

2. When the onions are done, carefully remove them from the fat and drain on absorbent paper. Remove the garlic from the fat, peel, and puree. Using a serrated knife, cut the top one‑third off the sprout end of each onion and set aside. Using a small spoon, scoop out the center of the onions until only 2 layers remain. Mince the onion that was scooped out of the centers and set aside. Keep the onion shells and tops warm in a very low oven.

3. Add a tablespoon of fat to a small frying pan and cook the minced onion over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, snails, and tomato. Cook until the tomato pieces start to soften and the snails are heated through. Season with salt, pepper, and tarragon.

4. Place an onion shell in the middle of a heated serving plate. Place 9 snails and some of the onion‑tomato mixture in the cavity of the onion. Spoon 3 snails and some of the vegetables around the base of the onion. Do the same with the other serving plate. Place the onion tops in their original positions and serve immediately.

2. Separate 2 well‑shaped outer leaves from the head of cabbage. Blanch the leaves in salted, boiling water for 2 minutes. Chill in an ice bath and dry well with absorbent paper. Melt 10 g (2 t) of butter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly brush the blanched cabbage leaves with butter and place on the baking sheet. Bake the leaves until they become translucent, about 1 hour.

3. Core the remaining cabbage and cut the leaves into fine shreds. Set aside.

4. Shortly before servings, melt 25 g (12⁄3 T) butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the snails, garlic, and parsley. Cook for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove the snails and keep warm in the oven.

5. Raise in heat under the sauce and reduce greatly. Off the heat, whisk in 10 g (2 t) of butter. Keep warm.

6. In the meantime, cook the bacon in small frying pan over high heat. Add 50 g (31⁄3 T) butter. When melted, add the shredded cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the cabbage until well caramelized.

7. To serve, place a 7‑cm (23⁄4‑in) ring mold in the center of each of the heated serving plates. Divide the cabbage between the rings. Spoon half the snails over each cabbage portion. Carefully remove the rings. Spoon the sauce over and around the cabbage and snails. Carefully place one of the baked cabbage leaves over one edge of each arrangement. Serve immediately.

1. Blanch the diced potato in salted water until just tender, but not soft, about 3 minutes. Drain, cool under running water, and drain again. Set aside.

2. For fondue de poireau: Blanch the leek in salted water for 4 minutes. Drain, cool in an ice bath, drain again, and dry on absorbent paper. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat until tender and lightly colored. Add the cooked leeks, cream, salt, and pepper. Cook, while stirring constantly, until creamy.

3. For sauce: Place the stock and the stems from the herbs in a frying pan over high heat and reduce by half. Add the cream, salt, and pepper. Simmer until partially reduced. Puree the sauce with a stick blender and strain into a clean saucepan.

4. Add the cooked potatoes, snails, ham, minced herbs to the sauce. Heat for a couple minutes over low heat.

5. Reheat the leeks, if necessary. Place a mound of leeks in each heated serving bowl. Spoon the snails over the leeks. Sprinkle the diced tomato over the top of the snails and garnish each serving with some chervil.

2. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut each in half lengthwise. If a potato half doesn’t sit flat with the flesh side up, trim a small amount off the skin side. Sprinkle the cut side of the potato halves with fine salt. Place the halves, skin side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender, but not soft, about 20 to 30 minutes.

3. In the meantime, place the garlic in a small saucepan with a little water over high heat. Blanch for 1 minute. Drain and repeat the process three more times. Cool the garlic in ice water. Drain well.

4. Place the almonds, parsley, salt, pepper, and about two‑thirds of the oil in the bowl of small food processor. Process until smooth. Add the remaining oil and process again. Add the snails and process a third time.

5. Place a tablespoon‑sized portion of the snail mixture on each of the potato halves and reheat for 2 minutes in the oven.

1. Pound parsley, shallot, and garlic in a mortar into a paste. Combine with salt, pepper, wine, cognac, and nutmeg. Combine with butter. Alternately, place parsley, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, wine, cognac, and nutmeg in the bowl of a mini‑food processor and process until minced. Add butter and process to combine.

2. Preheat oven to 230°C (445°F).

3. Arrange snails in individual wells of escargot plates. Top each with 1⁄12 of the escargot butter. Bake for 9 minutes, or until snails are warm.